Fellowship in Jewish Social Entrepreneurship

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We often think of environmental consciousness and sustainable living as an amalgam of gallant wind-farms, sleek hybrid cars, and perhaps a few melting ice caps. Certainly, recycling is also on the mind, and post-consumer waste products have increasingly become a regular sight from tissues to coffee cups. All of this is admirable and arguably a step in the right direction. They move individuals towards lifestyles in which consumption produces resources instead of waste. On the other hand, critics of such behavior might contend that individual action cannot consequentially impact the immense systems of production and supply that tend to generate waste on the large scale- hazardous or otherwise.

Though not entirely true, such criticism has some merit. New York City alone generates and exports 15,000 tons of waste daily, which finds its way to distant landfills. This translates to a number of negative side-effects, including $450 million a year in disposal costs and the air pollution from trash-hauling trucks. Clearly, this problem exceeds the capabilities of the individual alone.

My placement organization through the FJSE is Global Green’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR). The Coalition a solution to this problem through waste diversion, a strategy that looks for methods in which wasted resources might be integrated as materials into new or existing supply streams. This covers a range of familiar areas, including efforts to turn commercial food waste into nutrients via composting. Another large-scale effort focuses on commercial food packaging, wherein the Coalition has worked towards replacing wax-lined good crates with a variety more easily recyclable.

I’ve noticed thus far that the strength of the organization lies in its broad network of affiliates and interested parties. In our efforts, such as those addressing commercial food packaging, the Coalition engages companies from all points in the supply line and across the country. For example, New Orleans Fish House, a seafood supplier, recently showcased the use of a new box produced by another CoRR company: Interstate Resources. The Coalition includes paper mills that specialize in turning the waste from such boxes into further resources.

As the Media and Communications Intern at CoRR, my primary work has been to help document, on video, the organization’s recent successes and developing work. The ultimate goal of this work is not archival. Rather, Global Green hopes to create several, short documentaries to showcase their work to its various sub-organizations (CoRR included). I feel that such communication is vital for this organization and environmental initiatives in general. In my experience, the lack of widespread mobilization around the environmental crisis is due in part to a dearth of communication with the general public. The complexity of such a large-scale issue easily swallows any human story, if allowed to. I aim to highlight the human work at the heart of change at CoRR. In doing so, I hope that the public can grasp more effectively the scope of the problems we face as a consumptive society. More importantly, however, I don’t want to disparage anybody. Instead, I want to communicate that individual actions, if enacted in concert with those of others, can indeed affect great change.

Though there’s not much to show as of yet (our primary project this year is still in its adolescence), there’s quite a bit to read and learn already. To learn more about NYC’s unique capacity for waste-turned resources, visit “NYC Opportunity” on CoRR’s website. As an example of just part of our search for better boxes, you can check out an early field trip we took to test some out at a nearby farm. Finally, you might not be a packaging tycoon or restaurant owner, but you can still enact your own waste-diversion programs. Beyond paper and plastic, e-waste is a resource waiting to be tapped, even by the CoRR. NYC’s Department of Environmental Conservation hosts an E-waste Recycling guide here, for your perusal.